A Remake of 'White Men Can't Jump' Is Next & Rosie Perez Has Thoughts
"Black-ish" creator Kenya Barris is taking a (three-point?) shot at remaking the 1992 sports comedy "White Men Can't Jump." According to The Hollywood Reporter, he teamed with Blake Griffin of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers and Ryan Kalil of the NFL's Carolina Panthers to develop the movie. Barris will be writing the feature script and he'll also co-produce.
It sounds like they don't have their leads cast yet, but someone is going to have to fill the shoes of Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, and -- if they stick to the original -- Rosie Perez.
Interestingly enough, CinemaBlend already got comment from Rosie Perez on the idea of remaking this movie. They had talked to her at the Gasparilla Film Festival in Tampa, where she was promoting "Puerto Ricans in Paris." They brought up remaking "White Men Can't Jump" just by knowing that someday Hollywood would come for it. Her response to the idea was mixed:
"Some classics you shouldn't touch. Some films should be remade. I don't think there's a necessity to remake 'White Men Can't Jump.' But quite honestly, I'm kind of flattered. I am. Because there's, you know... that means it had a certain importance to somebody or whomever, to say, 'let's do this again.' But that's tricky, because 'White Men Can't Jump' was all about chemistry. Chemistry and timing, you know?..."
She also emphasized the need for "alpha" personalities from the leads:
"...Seriously, if they cast this film, they're going to have to find three people that are distinct individuals, alpha individuals, who are sensitive and crazy and fun and loving and funny as hell. Otherwise, it's not going to work."
So there you have it. Go alpha or go home. We'll have to stay tuned for more details on how this remake develops.
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